The London Court of International Arbitration’s (LCIA) decision in the protracted conflict between Power Distribution Services (PDS) Ghana Limited and the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) was applauded by the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition, which described it as a significant confirmation of the government’s stance on the contentious concession.
After PDS’s concession deal with ECG ended, the LCIA rejected all of PDS’s claims, finding that the company’s demands were baseless.
Importantly, the Tribunal decided that the government’s decision to end the concession was lawfully justifiable since the Demand Guarantees supporting the transaction were void ab initio, or illegal from the beginning.
The government emphasised that the entire incident “should never have arisen” in a statement signed by Richmond Rockson, the Ministry’s spokesperson and head of communications. It attributed the difficulty to poor choices and mistakes made during the previous administration’s selection and approval procedures.
According to the statement, Ghana lost almost US$190 million in Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) compact funding in 2019 as a result of these mistakes; these funds were supposed to promote important ECG reforms.
Now that the arbitration is over, the Ministry says its first objective is to make sure the State and ECG get any money that might be owed after the Tribunal’s decision.
“The Ministry assures the public that all necessary legal and administrative steps are being taken to recover any amounts due to ECG and the State. We reaffirm our commitment to transparency, accountability, and sustainable energy reforms in line with President John Dramani Mahama’s development agenda,” the statement highlighted.
According to the Energy Ministry, the decision paves the way for a renewed emphasis on bolstering corporate governance, stabilising the power industry, and implementing reforms meant to increase ECG’s and the wider energy value chain’s efficiency and financial sustainability.
Source: newsthemegh.com